The field of my invention is firearm safety.
Most prior art addresses the disabling of various parts of the firearm. For example, a popular item currently sold in gun shops is a trigger blocking device that is installed by screwing together two pieces using a special screwdriver having two small points. This device offers protection for the person who is concerned about young children handling or playing with the firearm unsupervised, but a teenager with mechanical skills can easily shape a piece of metal with which to remove the screw, or even remove the screw with a pointed instrument, and thereby defeat the device. Furthermore, a trigger blocking device does not prevent either the loading or the cocking of the firearm, which might then be discharged in consequence of receiving a sharp blow as in being dropped.
The object of the Goenner U.S. Pat. No. 3,991,594, is antitheft or antiintrusion only, and involves at least two more features than my invention.
Best, in his U.S. Pat. No. 4,075,878, defines a cable lock especially adapted for relatively heavy cables. Significant features of Best's invention are the rotatability of the cable end members, desirable in heavy cables that tend to be very stiff and awkward to handle. The cable of my invention is relatively light, and the cable and members as described in FIG. 8, which I call "fittings," are not essentially rotatable. One end of the cable is permanently affixed by any practical manufacturing means to the lock body. The other end of the cable is fitted with a fitting that is formed with a notch of the configuration typically found on the insertable end of padlock shackles. Although this notch may be formed as an annular ring for simplicity of insertion, in my embodiment it may just as well require orientation for insertion. A further distinction of my insertable fitting is its bullet shaped tip, which facilitates insertion through the bore of the barrel. Also significant in the Best patent is his claim of a dual chamber core. In my invention, the core of the lock body is in keeping with the long established padlock technology that preceded Best.
An essential feature of my invention is the electroplating or coating of all members in order to prevent scratching or marring of the firearm to which it is applied. Best's patent does not recite or claim any such features.
And finally, Best makes no claim to apply his invention as a lockout means.
Balicki, in his U.S. Pat. No. 3,933,015, discloses a tamper-proof cable lock assembly having a series of sheath-like armor sections covering a cable. The object of my invention does not demand a tamper-proof design.
Stone's U.S. Pat. No. 3,841,118 covers a cable lock that claims only theft prevention of snowmobiles, motorcycles, outboard motors, and bicycles using a pair of mating lock sections that straddle the cable.
DelPesco, in his expired U.S. Pat. No. 3,435,642, discloses a flexible shackle lock. The thrust of DelPesco's patent is a unique latching mechanism that is simpler and less expensive than locks existing at that time. My invention includes features that differ essentially from DelPesco, namely: no dependency on a specific lock mechanism; any conventional lock may be adapted for assembly with the cable of my invention; the lock body of my invention must be electroplated or coated to prevent marring or scratching of the firearm to which it is applied; cable fittings on my invention must be relatively small so as to pass through the bore of small caliber firearms; my invention is a lockout device, and does not claim the broad uses of locking devices in general. These several distinctions demonstrate that the embodiment of my invention as shown in FIG. 8 is a new use for a cable lock.
Essential to Foote's U.S. Pat. No. 3,765,197 is a box within which a cable lock is enclosed, a feature not desired in my invention. Further, the object of Foote's invention is theft prevention.
Menick's U.S. Pat. No. 4,398,403 involves multiple locking areas and a housing useful primarily to prevent theft of skis and ski poles.
Papandrea's U.S. Pat. No. 4,543,806 involves a housing and a coil spring retraction mechanism for the cable.
Foote's, Menick's, and Papandrea's patents all involve far more mechanism and features than my present invention.
Kawakami's U.S. Pat. No. 4,302,955 is narrowly prescribed for bicycle use only.
In the material that follows I will disclose a more positive device than any of the aforementioned devices. My invention prevents the loading of a cartridge into the firing position, and therefore prevents the discharge of the firearm by occupying the barrel bore with a cable or other strong, flexible means that is externally secured by a locking means.